1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to hospital health care devices, and in particular to a scale for weighing patients lying in a supine or prone position.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In hospitals and other convalescent facilities, it is frequently necessary to obtain accurate weight measurements of patients. Obtaining an accurate weight measurement is relatively easy when the patient is ambulatory. The ambulatory patient can move to the conventional weighing scale and position himself on the scale while the measurement is being taken.
Obtaining an accurate weight measurement for nonambulatory patients is usually more difficult, and the need for an accurate patient weight measurement is often more important for patients whose medical condition means that they are not ambulatory. The need for such an accurate weight measurement often occurs in intensive care units, coronary care, surgical recovery, dialysis, intravenous therapy, shock, pediatrics, and fluid balance monitoring.
To provide weight measurement for nonambulatory patients, various types of patient scales have been available. All of these scales have utilized a patient lifting device to perform the weighing function. In some scales, the patient has been suspended in the device and the weight was determined by sensing the downward pull on the patient lift. In other scales, the patient is lifted on a large device which resembles a fork lift. While these scales have generally provided sufficiently accurate patient weight measurements, they have had several major drawbacks. A patient lifting scale is a relatively large piece of apparatus that requires significant storage space and is difficult to maneuver in a crowded patient room. Due to the size and complexity of the scale, it is not convenient for operation by a single attendant, and it often requires several attendants to transfer the patient to the device, to assure the safety of the patient, and to operate the scale. In addition, the nature of these patient scales has resulted in patient discomfort resulting from the transferring of the patient to and from the scale.